SKARA BRAE, Skaill House, and . . . Cock-a-Leekie Soup

Bryan’s journal with more about the Orkneys:

We visited Skara Brae, the site of a coastal Neolithic village that had existed for some 600 years before vanishing. 

 stone furniture

Children played here after a storm revealed the site in the 1920s!  

a reconstructed house:  exterior and interior

                                                                       

Next to the Skara Brae site was the Skaill Mansion with its many rooms and mementos of the lairds. 

Eleanor was impressed by the large parlor.  Here's one half of it.

And . . . the other half.  

Bryan liked the library with its moveable shelves.

                        The dishes in that cabinet . . . belonged to Captain Cook!

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Mom picked up some ideas when she worked for Scottish-Canadians and we loved it when she made Pot Barley Soup!   Of course, she just used onions instead of leeks, and I can find only Pearl Barley now.  On board the ship we were offered Cock-a-Leekie Soup so I gave Mom's soup a little tweak.   

COCK-A-LEEKIE SOUP

1 chicken

10 cups beef stock (Bought is fine.  If you make your own stock, dice 1 or 2 cups of the beef and add to the soup at the same time as the white part of the leeks)

¾ cup pearl barley

3 slices bacon, diced

1 leek

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp thyme leaves (dried or fresh)

¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

Chopped parsley for garnish

·        Dice bacon.

·        Wash leeks and slice thinly.  Keep green part separate from the white.

·        Cut up chicken and rinse.

·        Bring chicken to a boil in the beef stock.  Skim.

·        Add pearl barley, diced bacon, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper, and green part of the leeks.

·        Cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

·        Add white part of leeks and simmer 15 more minutes. 

·         Remove chicken from pot.  Cool.  Discard skin and bones.  Dice the meat and return to the pot.

·        Taste for salt.

·        Reheat and serve, garnished with chopped parsley.  YUM!